I don’t always make dessert, but when I do, I make sure it packs a daily caloric intake with every bite. I’m not kidding. If I’m going to do dessert, especially on a special occasion, it better count. I brought a celebratory cake to some of my running friends who had just completed the LA Marathon recently, and one of them asked if it was going to be “healthy.” That’s a firm “hail no.” My philosophy is you have to earn dessert, but when you do, you go big or go home.
Such was the occasion for this cheesecake I made for my lawfully wedded spouse’s birthday. One needs a celebratory dessert to ring in their forty-eighth year of life and I decided to use Cowboy Crack, I mean Bark, from Trader Joe’s, as my inspiration. If you have not had this original sin in a bag, just walk away. There’s nothing more to see, besides dark chocolate with pieces of Oreos and pretzels with toffee. I run 3 extra miles just so I can feed my addiction.
This cheesecake starts with a pretzel crust, cheesecake with chocolate chips and crushed Oreos and dry toasted pecan pieces as the topping. It might very well have its own zip code, it’s that momentous.

For the crust:
2 cups crushed pretzels
1/2 cup butter, melted
Crush the pretzels in a Ziplock bag and combine with butter. Press with your hands in a greased springform pan and bake at 350 for 10 minutes. Let cool completely.

In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, eggs, sugar, and yogurt until smooth. Fold in the crushed Oreos and chocolate chips and pour over cooled crust. Bake at 350 for 50 minutes, or until center comes out clean with an inserted toothpick. Spread pecans evenly over the top and refrigerate overnight
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